A shining star on the rise

by Petri Silas

"A secret destined to come out globally sooner than not, Pauli Lyytinen is THE current Finnish jazzer to follow if woodwinds are your penchant."

A secret destined to come out globally sooner than not, Pauli Lyytinen is THE current Finnish jazzer to follow if woodwinds are your penchant. So far known to most as the driving force behind the avant pop group Elifantree he runs with equally multitalented spouse Anni Elif Egecioglu, Lyytinen is now taking giant steps to assert himself as a composer and bandleader.

Magnetia Orkesteri’s debut offering is a fierce, yet controlled cornucopia of 21st century free jazz. On this courageous album, influences culled equally from Western chamber music and various ethnic sources react effortlessly with one another in a rock solid compositional setting.

One of the keys to success lies in the 35-year old Lyytinen’s shrewd choice of musicians with exceptional intrinsic links to their backgrounds. Old souls one and all, trumpeter Verneri Pohjola, bassist Eero Tikkanen and drummer Mika Kallio never fail to act as one and infuse Lyytinen’s themes with wisdom, clarity and chutzpah.

Evoking echoes of the great Henry Threadgill and his wondrous handpicked bands, prime examples of the consonance of Magnetia Orkesteri are sentimental album opener Revelations and the agile, aptly titled Village Fool.